In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

09 Feb

There are lots of panels and conferences being held around the U.S. (and maybe outside the U.S.) on the new Trump Administration's policies and their impact on international law. I would like to recommend our readers view some or all of the video from this half-day conference recently hosted in Washington D.C. by the Federalist Society and the American Branch of...

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08 Feb

[Benjamin Nussberger is a PhD student and research fellow at the Institute for Peace and Security Law at University of Cologne. He is currently pursuing a LLM degree at Columbia Law School.This post is a response and addendum to Professor Helal’s post Crisis in The Gambia: How Africa is Rewriting Jus ad Bellum.] The Security Council did it again. Intentionally? No...

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08 Feb

The legal battle over President Trump’s recent executive order has cast a spotlight on the president’s broad and potentially abusive powers over U.S. immigration laws.  But it is worth remembering that this power can be used in many different ways, including in ways that the President’s critics would support.  This past December, Congress delegated to the president broad discretionary powers...

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06 Feb

Seton Hall Law School (where I am a professor) organized an excellent panel on the travel ban and immigration restrictions last Thursday, Feb 2.    For those who wish to learn more about the legal effects of the executive order, I encourage you to watch it here. You will see presentations by Professors Lori Nessel, Ed Hartnett and Jonathan Hafetz discussing the...

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04 Feb

Kill me: Funding will be taken away from any organisation that is "controlled or substantially influenced by any state that sponsors terrorism" or is behind the persecution of marginalised groups or systematic violation of human rights. The order has singled out peacekeeping, the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Population Fund. The UNPFA targets violence against women, fights to keeps childbirth and abortion,...

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03 Feb

[Jonathan Hafetz is Professor of Law at Seton Hall University School of Law.] President Trump’s recent executive order temporarily barring the entry of refugees and others has provoked widespread protests, inflicted unnecessary suffering, and undermined the United States’ reputation across the world.  Several district judges have temporarily blocked its enforcement, at minimum preserving the status quo (by halting the removal of...

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01 Feb

Because I am on sabbatical this semester, I have been lying low during these first few (very busy!) weeks of the Trump administration.  But I have noticed that the sheer volume of Trump administration actions, and reactions to its actions, is confusing both its supporters and its critics.  While Trump has already taken actions that are worthy of severe criticism...

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25 Jan

It is early days, and much we don’t know – including, indeed, whether the draft Executive Order the new Administration is contemplating (as reported by the New York Times and Washington Post) is indeed an official document of the new Administration. For the time being, let me offer a few reasons why I’m worried, and reasons why I’m not...

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25 Jan

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my friend and Doughty Street colleague Sir Nigel Rodley. Cribbing from the statement issued by the International Commission of Jurists, of which Nigel was President: Elected President of the ICJ in 2012, he was serving his third term as such. He had been first elected to the Commission in 2003...

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24 Jan

[Dr. Mohamed Helal is an Assistant Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law & Affiliated Faculty, Mershon Center for International Security Studies – The Ohio State University.] Academic writing and political commentary on jus ad bellum are overwhelmingly focused on the policies, practices, and positons of major military powers. Countries such as the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council,...

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